My Gallery Life is Done For!!!
The guest hall of the Yeonha Baek family head's residence was shrouded in heavy silence. The warm, intimate space where the family usually dined together had vanished entirely. Baek Mujin sat rigidly at the head seat, fidgeting only with his teacup. Across from him lounged a middle-aged man in a deep navy robe, facing him with arrogant poise. Embroidered on the man's robe chest was the emblem of a crane soaring above the clouds—the symbol of the grand sect, Biun Sect.
A sharp sword intent emanated from the middle-aged man, proclaiming him an early-stage Gold Core cultivator. He was Geomun the Elder, who had once coveted Baek Gyu, the Baek family's eldest son, as his personal disciple.
"Family Head. Do my words truly sound like a joke to you?" Geomun slammed his teacup down on the table with a sharp clink, his voice edged like a blade.
"This elder personally traveled all the way from the Biun Sect to take your son as my disciple, and you reject me with a single letter full of excuses. This is blatant deception and insult to the Biun Sect."
"Geomun Elder, there's a misunderstanding. Gyu lacks the talent to shoulder the heavy duties of a personal disciple. How could we deceive the goodwill of a grand sect?" Baek Mujin forced a smile as he explained, but Geomun's gaze sharpened even more.
"Spare me the excuses! Do you think I don't know that the Yeonha Baek family looks down on an outer sect elder like me? That you're acting so brazenly just because you have ties to a Transformation realm old monster?"
"You must see becoming my disciple as a poisoned chalice. If I leave like this, that Baek Gyu brat will rot away as a menial disciple in the sect for life."
It was a naked threat to block his son's future. Baek Mujin's fists clenched white-knuckled. Blood boiled at the grand sect's tyranny, but he couldn't vent his rage recklessly. The family's survival hung on this precarious tightrope.
At that moment, the tightly shut doors of the guest hall swung open, and Gok Elder entered with Baek Cheong.
"Hoho. Who might this be but Geomun Elder of the Biun Sect? Why come to another family's home so early in the morning and raise your voice like this?"
Gok Elder's hearty laugh, unique to a pill refiner, sliced through the heavy air. Geomun frowned at the uninvited guest, then startled upon recognizing him and half-rose from his seat.
"P-Pill Master? What brings you to the Baek family?"
"I stopped by to catch up with old Mu-ae. From outside, it sounded like a young punk was riling up this old man's nerves."
Gok Elder's pointed remark made Geomun clear his throat awkwardly and hastily compose himself. Even a Gold Core elder from a grand sect couldn't hold his head high before the Pill Master, revered by all cultivators.
Countless cultivators would stake their lives on a single pill from him.
"It's an honor to meet you, Pill Master. I apologize for any unintended rudeness."
As Geomun bowed his head, Baek Mujin let out a sigh of relief. The hostile atmosphere softened considerably with Gok Elder's arrival.
But Geomun's sharp eyes soon shifted to Baek Cheong, who peeked out from behind Gok Elder, gauging the mood.
"Is that child the Baek family's youngest daughter, Baek Cheong?"
Baek Mujin's heart sank at the question.
"She is. Why do you ask about my daughter?"
"Family Head. Let me tell you the real reason I came all this way without giving up on Baek Gyu."
Geomun settled back into his seat with a leisurely smile.
"Rumors are rampant in the cultivation world. The Yeonha Baek family birthed a once-in-ten-thousand-years prodigy, cursed by heaven with the wretched talent of O-yeong-geun."
"What does that rumor have to do with you?!" Baek Mujin shot to his feet, raising his voice. Insulting his daughter was an outrage no father could endure.
"Calm yourself, Family Head. This elder didn't come to mock. Quite the opposite—I've come to bestow grace and save that poor child."
Geomun pointed at Baek Cheong with shameless impudence.
"Hand over Baek Gyu as my personal disciple. In return, I'll accept your youngest daughter as an inner disciple of the Biun Sect. With O-yeong-geun talent, she'll rot away at the Refining Qi stage, confined to the family forever, won't she? With a grand sect's abundant resources and opportunities, she might even have a slim hope of breaking through to Core Formation."
It was a blatant deal—and a petty hostage play. Holding her fatal weakness of O-yeong-geun as leverage, dangling her future to forcibly drag his eldest son into his faction.
An inner disciple spot in the Biun Sect might be a lifelong dream for common cultivators or Core Formation families, but he couldn't sell off his precious Gold Core bloodline like that.
Baek Mujin trembled with fury, torn between the family head's dignity and a father's love, his eyes wavering.
Refuse, and his son's path would be blocked. Accept, and he'd throw his beloved daughter into the Biun Sect's harsh rules and scorn.
In that tense standoff, Gok Elder, who had remained silent, let out a dry chuckle.
"Tsk tsk tsk. If the discernment of a Biun Sect outer elder is so poor that you can't even snag a proper personal disciple and have to grovel at other families' doors."
"H-Hey, Pill Master! What insolence is that?!" Geomun flushed red with anger.
Gok Elder ignored him, gripping Baek Cheong's shoulder and stepping forward.
"You said O-yeong-geun dooms her to rot at Refining Qi forever? Your dull eyes must see this child's emanating energy as a shallow puddle. She awakened Five Elements Harmony on her own, reaching Refining Qi 2-star, and hit 3-star this very morning—a prodigy unseen in ages!"
The hall erupted at Gok Elder's roar.
"3-star?! Elder, is that true?!" Baek Mujin kicked back his chair, unable to hide his shock.
Gok Elder nodded and lifted Baek Cheong's wrist for inspection. Baek Mujin sensed from her an energy of Five Elements so deep and solid it belied mere Refining Qi 3-star. It was undeniable proof of advanced mastery.
Geomun's jaw dropped, his eyes bulging. Even to his senses, the purity and depth of her aura far surpassed ordinary Refining Qi 3-star.
"Th-This can't be... O-yeong-geun reaching 3-star in less than a month..."
Geomun slumped into his chair as if his legs had given out. The flimsy bait he'd brought tore apart like tissue before this girl's overwhelming talent, despite her O-yeong-geun.
At this level, there was no need to grovel for entry into the Biun Sect. Every sect in the cultivation world would fight to claim her.
"And moreover." Gok Elder didn't stop, drawing his final dagger.
"This child studies pill refining under me. Her first time handling a furnace, and she produced a high-grade Chwi-ryeong-dan. You think I'll let a future top pill refiner rot as some sect's inner disciple? Even if dirt fills my eyes in death, I won't stand for it!"
Boom! The hall floor shook violently from Gok Elder's stomping foot.
Geomun paled and began trembling. First the miracle of Five Elements Harmony, now a novice producing high-grade pills—a heavenly pill refining talent. He'd touched a forbidden reverse scale.
"A-A misunderstanding! Pill Master, Family Head! This elder spoke out of turn. Forget everything I said!"
Geomun scrambled up, bowing repeatedly in apology. His arrogant demeanor over holding the eldest son hostage vanished.
Mistreating a prodigy personally backed by the cultivation world's top pill master could cut off the entire Biun Sect's pill supply—a catastrophe.
"I'll return to the Biun Sect at once and ensure no harm comes to your eldest son Baek Gyu! Please forgive my offense!"
Sweat pouring, Geomun fled the hall like the wind. Silence fell heavily as they watched his vanishing figure.
"Hahaha!"
Baek Mujin's booming laughter broke it.
"Gok Elder, my deepest thanks! Thanks to you, this nagging toothache is gone. Gyu can now focus on his cultivation in peace."
"Hoho, what did I do? It was all this child's astonishing talent that moved this old man."
Gok Elder smiled warmly, patting Baek Cheong's head. Baek Mujin grinned too.
"Cheong-ah, you got us through a major crisis. Hiding your 3-star from even your father is naughty, but since you did something praiseworthy, I'll let it slide."
Baek Mujin and Gok Elder laughed heartily, sharing their joy. But inside, Baek Cheong was burning black.
'Oh, please...'
Baek Cheong stared blankly at the air with dead-fish eyes.
Escaping the Biun Sect crisis was fortunate, but the lavish praises Gok Elder had woven today turned into a noose around her neck. Word of her novice high-grade pill refining talent had clearly reached her family head father's ears.
"By the way, Family Head... Mind if I properly teach Cheong pill refining? Her talent is too good to waste."
"If Gok Elder teaches her, it would be a boundless grace. Cheong-ah, from now on, devote yourself even more to pill refining. Learn everything you can by his side."
Baek Mujin's excited voice boomed. It meant double—no, triple—the sweat-inducing hours before the furnace.
'My gallery life is over...'
Baek Cheong nodded with a forced smile. Her dream of rolling around her room, lurking on the Moomyeongbang, drifted ever farther away.
Thus, extraordinary measures were needed.